Who Ordered the Satellite Strike?
I spoke with John Pike, the long-time military space observer and director of GlobalSecurity.org, shortly after the news broke that the Chinese had destroyed a satellite, more than 500 miles above the Earth. He wondered how much "adult supervision" there had been of the sat-killer test. Perhaps this was a small group of China star warriors looking to teach the U.S. a lesson, he mused -- not a big, strategic move from the chiefs in Beijing.
Now, there have been lots of theories about why China decided now to conduct their anti-satellite test. Maybe it was a way to scare the Bush administration back to the negotiating table. Maybe it was done to compete with India's recent ballistic missile test. Maybe it was a designed to show the U.S. how costly an intervention on Taiwain's side would be. (The CIA is "especially concerned," because "the Chinese have become so adept at camouflage," according to Aviation Week.)
Today's analysis in the New York Times, however, seems to lend credence to Pike's guess. "Bush administration officials said that they had been unable to get even the most basic diplomatic response from China," the paper says. Those American officials "were uncertain whether China’s top leaders, including President Hu Jintao, were fully aware of the test or the reaction it would engender."
The American officials presume that Mr. Hu was generally aware of the missile testing program, but speculate that he may not have known the timing of the test. China’s continuing silence would appear to suggest, at a minimum, that Mr. Hu did not anticipate a strong international reaction, either because he had not fully prepared for the possibility that the test would succeed, or because he did not foresee that American intelligence on it would be shared with allies, or leaked.
In an interview late Friday, Stephen J. Hadley, President Bush’s national security adviser, raised the possibility that China’s leaders might not have fully known what their military was doing.
“The question on something like this is, at what level in the Chinese government are people witting, and have they approved?†Mr. Hadley asked.
ALSO:
* China Tests Satellite Killer?
* China Space Attack: Unstoppable
* Beijing's Next-Gen Sat Strike
* Satellite Killer's Big Impact
* Why Did China Smack the Sat?
* China Sat-Killer Not Yet Weapons Grade?
The dragon lashed its tail and swept a third of the stars out of the sky and hurled them to earth.I can see Chinas testing is in fact a test to an upcoming global domination from China since its emergence with Russia on a military basis.Its a pre-move to this action and Chinas aquisition of global oil and deals confirms this.To cripple the US is its aim and I encourage the US to rely on alternate communicae via radio to backup in case of a satellite intrusion.All this goes for anything that relies on satellites.No back up or guidance dependant on these can operate without them.Imagine troops and vehicles inoperable because of the interruption of signal.Its silly to put all your eggs in one basket so to say and good reason.Have back up its the only way to go that keeps on going.This destruction of satellites goes to far in these times and as for China,historically these actions are the pretext for its first stike in what may become no future for many.Do not dismiss all these signs we've been given!When launched its like a jury who heard the wrong thing,you cannot take it back even if told to disregard and the aftermath is an I told you so.Priority one should be what plans do we have in place of a communicae breakdown of defense around the world and what are we going to do if struck first?Very nasty business.Preparation needs emplaced expedititiously,urgency critical.
Posted by: michaelangeloh at January 28, 2007 3:29 PM